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Tuesday, 24 July 2012

We get up to a lot of different things at HH HQ and this Summer's workshop list is even more packed than last year!

We have cushion making this Thursday, 26th July and there's still some spaces left! Making a simple cushion is a great way to gain confidence in measuring and cutting fabric accurately and then using a machine, you'll never look back! 11 am - 2 pm and costing £40 per person, space is limited to just four people and you will produce a brilliant, feather-filled plump cushion - choose from some amazing fabrics!

One of my favourite things to do here is the natural dyeing, we had a lot of fun with woad (blue) last year! There are a number of dyeing workshops planned and they are all £40 per person - you will take away a 100g skein of yarn and a large silk scarf.

Mordants, madder (red/orangy brown) and weld (bright yellow or green) the Purple Feathery Reed heads are a bit late due to the weather...Thursday 2nd August 11 am - 3 pm.

Thursday 30th August 6 - 9 pm there should be purple, feathery reed heads available by then!

Saturday 8th September 1.30 - 5.30 will be Woad!

The T-shirt quilt that I made for my grown-up son was such fun to make and so effective! What a great keepsake and a good use of T-shirts that would have been turned into rags!

Three sessions on Friday 3rd August 10 am - 1 pm, 2 - 5 pm and Saturday 2 - 5 pm - £10 per session and you can come along to one, two or all three!

A hand-sewing session, bring your own shirts! Ask for details of how to prepare your shirts....

Rachel is our felty friend and her workshops are amazing! I was lucky enough to have a go last time and it won't be my last visit to the wonderful world of felt, a great craft and so adaptable!

The colours of the wool tops are dazzling!

Rachel is doing a whole day workshop on Saturday 25th August 11 am - 5 pm and this time it's bags!

£55 per person and that includes all materials, refreshments but you will need to bring a light lunch as we will stop to re-fuel, there will also be cake....limited spaces.

As you will have read in the previous blog post, Jacqui recently visited the States but before she went away we had arranged for her to man(n) the stall at The Strawberry Fair held every year at Alder Carr - as it's always held on a Saturday I can never attend as I'm in charge of buttons at the shop. Jacqui did come up with the idea of making a few of these lovely strawberry shaped pin cushions (inspired by the rather wonderful @scrapiana - clever twitter friend) for the event though and they were so much fun to make and went down well with the visitors too!

The next Strawberry pin cushion afternoon will be on Saturday 25th August 2 - 5 pm and will cost £20 per person, all materials and refreshments provided and as the pin cushions are filled with a mixture of lavender from Provence and sand we will all be calm, cool and collected as we make as many of these beautiful and very useful little works of art as we can!

You may recognise the fella in the background of the picture above...

It is Alphonso! He's a bounder and a cad, breaking hearts all over the shop....he's even started to receive fan emails from smitten ladies who have happened upon him during a visit to HH HQ!

The next two Ragdoll workshops are this Saturday 2 - 5 pm and Thursday 18th August 6 - 9 pm. £10 per session and there are old, French linen sheets, vintage fabrics and notions with which to embellish your damsel, gigolo or even a (as one lady decided to do) very dapper hare!

This is an hand-sewing project and it is possible to complete a doll in one session...

Mmmmmm! You should smell the 'ready to be collected' soap as it sits on the HH HQ table - made using the cold process method of soap-making and using ingredients that include essential oils, coconut oil and cocoa butter.

The next two sessions are on Friday 31st August 5 - 9 pm and Saturday 29th September 1.30 - 5.30 pm.

Places are limited to four persons and the cost is £50 per person. You will make four different soaps and take away approximately a kilo of assorted soaps. The soaps will need to cure for four weeks before using.

Perfect for Christmas gift giving....

We had a really great time in May when upstairs at HH HQ was turned from being the upstairs studio and became Vintage Notions! Kitchenalia, vintage knitting and sewing patterns, fabrics and old linens and lace...Lady Galula brought along her gluten-free wares and a fine time was had by all!

We're doing it all again but this time bigger and better! Friday 14th September 2 - 5 pm and Saturday 15th September 2 - 5 pm.

Ah....vintage loveliness! Candle making in containers such as these pretty teacups and pressed glass sundae dishes is very satisfying and they make great gifts too, if you can bear to give them away!

The next session will be geared towards the festive season and will include the pine cone firelighters that are featured in A Green Guide to Country Crafts. £25 per person on Saturday 22nd September 2 - 5 pm. Spaces are limited to four persons.

We will also be running a container candle workshop on our stall at The Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket on the 11th and 12th August!

It's the big Steam and Craft Fair and last year (with a lot of help from Peg!) we did a fantastic demonstration of dyeing with woad, this year we thought it would be nice to get everyone involved and make some citronella scented flowerpot candles!

Phew! With 'Crochet for beginners' on Thursday 6th September 6 - 9 pm and 'Knitting for beginners' on Thursday 20th September 6 - 9 pm - £20 per person all materials and refreshments provided, you even take your hooks and needles away with you! See just how much fun you can have with sticks and string....spaces are limited to six persons on each session.

Oh....and there's the Suffolk Dog Day at Helmingham Hall this Sunday - we will be flashing off our buttons there too! If you are going there too do drop past and say 'hi!' it would be great to put a face to a blog.....:)

Sunday, 1 July 2012

I have very recently returned from a trip to New York....and of course, high on my list of priorities was a visit to the beautiful Purl Soho, previously only seen on the 'pages' of my computer screen! So what a treat to be able to see it in the flesh and in all it's glory!

I couldn't believe it when I finally peeked in the shop window - and knew I was about to set foot inside!

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I truly did not know where to look first! But after soaking up the walls of yarn, my eyes settled on this super cute mini bunting. How sweet is this?

Not only were the walls stacked high to the rafters with gorgeous yarn, but also the shelves too! And of course Knit Collage Yarns were much in evidence! Yum!

One of our favourite Knit Collage yarns is Kinari Bazaar so I couldn't resist snapping this of the pom-pom hat knitted up in this colourway!

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Turning around again, yet more inspiration awaits - a whole wall of embroidery hoop art, using all the glorious fabrics available.....what a simple but oh so effective way of cheering up a plain wall.

To say I enjoyed my visit to this iconic NY store would be an understatement, it leaves you slightly giddy with excitement and possibilities!

Fast forward less than one week, and the next dose of crafty fruitiness awaited me in the form of Alder Carr Farm's Annual Strawberry Fayre! Ever so slightly closer to home and certainly no 7 hour flights required for this one!

Nic was busy in the shop being a Saturday, with a candle making course to follow so having been allowed the pick of the shop to transport just a little taste of Halfpenny Home to Alder Carr, I set up bright and early outside the farm shop - complete with a strawberry motif tablecloth!!!

I'd managed to paint just a few bits and pieces in readiness for the fayre, and Nic excelled herself with a mini production line of these beautiful Strawberry Pincushions. All unique with different ribbon and button toppings - they went down a storm! For all you vintage lovers - you'll also spy the beautiful vintage "strawberries" using old Liberty prints.....mmmmmm

It turned out to be a very lovely day and the sun shone all afternoon long! I met lots of lovely people and a special mention must go to the super creative Hannah Mee of Love Mee Designs - and Jane Marshall of The Beaded Garden who I set up stall alongside and who helped make the day so enjoyable.

After all the recent activity, both near and far, I am enjoying a rather quieter Sunday....with strawberries for tea, of course!

About Me

Halfpenny Home is open Tuesday through to Sunday 10-4 at Alder Carr Farm, Creeting St. Mary, Suffolk IP6 8LX. You can phone the shop on 01449 721123 or contact Nic on 07887511081 email - halfpennyhome@googlemail.com
Nic Gouldsmith started Halfpenny Home in an old soap factory in the small Suffolk town of Needham Market and very quickly became the place to go for hard to find crafting sundries and haberdashery supplies. After just over 4 years in the soap factory HH HQ moved to the dream location on Alder Carr Farm! The new and shiny HH HQ is now housed in an old windmill which for many years was used as a dovecote - the nest boxes are still in place and now are filled with ribbon, fabric and buttons!
With help from a few of Nic's creative friends HH HQ runs a very varied list of fun workshops where you are sure to produce something beautiful and have a lovely time...we also have rather a lot of tea and homemade cakes!
Enjoy reading about everything that happens at Halfpenny Home and there are also some rather pretty photos, please do ask for permission first before reproducing them anywhere - it's always nice to hear about where they will pop up!
Nic x